Season 17 is shaping up for an exciting finish. I’m trying to maintain the sense of momentum and excitement in myself, but it’s a bit of a struggle at times. I have a feeling that the rest of August will be like wading through treacle.
My football gaming is assuming its typical late-summer pattern: patchy. I often need to summon up the enthusiasm to play, rather than have it automatically available to me, on tap and ready to go.
Still, every time I do take a day or two off the game and then come back, I’m always amazed by how good PES2012 feels to play. Just knocking the ball around at the back is a total pleasure. About 3-4 weeks from now I’ll almost certainly be setting the game aside for good. I’ll do so with a lot of warm feelings and happy memories.
In the meantime, I have got the remainder of the current season to try to win a title and the Champions League. Any lingering dreams of a PES2012 Treble will have to wait. Focus on what I can win now, not what I might win next season.
I lost another match, badly, at home against Man City, 0-3. They caught me cold in this one. I’d had a whole day off, doing other things, and the CPU was just too fast, fancy, and free-flowing for me to cope with. I felt like a total noob at times as the AI danced around all my challenges. One of those games. This was my worst defeat for some time.
I took a couple of good wins over lesser teams. Chelsea, for one. I beat them 2-1 with another sensational late winner from Forlan—a one-on-one, which Forlan seems to be particualrly good at.
My one-on-one policy has changed in PES2012. I got so sick of the ball just going straight at the keeper that I’ve started to take one-on-ones very early—much too early sometimes—because only when shooting from a long way can I slide the ball into the corner of the net where I’m aiming. PES2013 only has to get shooting right and it’ll already be well in credit with me.
So I have mere weeks left of PES2012. That should be enough time to finish the current season, and play at least one more season, possibly two.
August is a funny month. It’s really been 7 years since I was actively involved in a PES at this time. There was PES6(360) a few years ago, but I didn’t start playing that until the summer months, so it doesn’t really count.
I feel restless and a little bored with PES2012, most of the time, I have to confess. As if I’ve sucked all the juice from it that I’m ever going to get.
NG I know how you feel man, weird how it takes effort to play our beloved PES at this time of the year, knowing the current game will be almost obsolete.
Saying that, do you mind if I tell you a little PES2010 tale? To me it was amazing, to you maybe nothing.
Playing a game last night(opponents and score irrelevant) I played a long diagonal cross from left to right, the furthest forward striker couldn’t get near it and the ball seemed sure to go out for a throw, but charging in from the right came my RMF (regen Simon Davies since you ask) and despite the angle being ridiculous and knowing it had a 1 in a million chance to go in, I unleashed a first time shot……..that went wide.
Now thats not the story, I heard a strange noise as the ball went past the side netting (low) and I thought it was a sound effect I’d never heard before, perhaps the ball hitting the side netting or the support thing behind the goal, but on viewing the replay I had in fact hit a water bottle, better still water splashed out of it when the ball smashed into it!
Small things amuse small minds I guess….you ever seen this before? Anyone else?
Mike—I’ve never seen or heard of that water bottle animation before and would have loved to see it myself—I love finding things like that in games. Does it qualify as an Easter Egg?
And I don’t remember him at all in PES2010, but Simon Davies is a god in PES2012. I will never scoff at so-called minor players again, having seen what they can do in this game.
Whats keeping me in vogue with the game right now is developing lower regens, its so satisfying when they become first team regulars or bring in big money. I don’t know about it being an easter egg, but I could never do it again in a million years so maybe.
Wish I’d saved the replay now!
I’m still enjoying the development of my side but am not signing any teens now as there won’t be time to see then come up to standard.
I’ve just noticed I have the World Club Championship final coming up against River Plate. Really want to win that.
Then my only goal is to win the Prem for the first time and the FA Cup. The latter I might do this season but the former looks like being next – if at all.
Mike—I miss PES2010′s ML so much that I’m half-toying with loading up my old save (which still exists) and playing a session one day soon. I probably won’t though as the speed of PES2010 is no longer to my taste, and FIFA12 will fill the gap between 2012 and 2013.
John—good luck with the league, make sure you grab that before the year is up.
I’ve come to see the ‘completion point’ for PES2012′s ML not as the point where I win the Treble (only a couple more chances for that left now), but as the point where I feel I’ve exhausted the mode and myself, and everything left is by way of an epilogue, so to speak. I’m not about to fall on my sword with PES2012—I still love it when I play it—but the leaves are turning brown, make no mistake.
Six games left in my master league season. Win em all and i win the treble. No pressure lol. Im 3 points ahead of man city in the league, up against real madrid in the champions league final and chelsea in the fa cup. Cant believe ive made it this far on superstar but damn if it wasnt hard. The scripting especially in the champions league is brutal. At times it felt like the game had a foot on my throat. I need to win the treble because i dont think i can play on. Im literally shattered, even dark souls didnt take as much from me. Even man utd 99 didnt have to make the comebacks ive had. PES2012 is a fantastic experience on superstar but make no mistake, if you you want to win trophies you need to give 100 percent concentration. When i finish work tomorrow im finishing my season, and if i win im getting pissed drunk!
leroy getz—totally agree, Superstar requires such focus all the time that it can feel draining and non-fun at times, but that’s part of the fun in a weird way. Suffice to say if the difficulty levels are balanced in the same way on PES2013 (signs are they will be), I’ll be starting out on Regular once more.
Good luck with the finale. Like I said above, the Treble was a natural climax for PES for so many years that it’ll still feel right to finish on that note.
We might be being a bit hasty to talk of just a few weeks of PES2012 left if 2013 is a dog…
My season 5 exciting climax fizzled out. Man U didn’t play Ronaldo, I scored 2 Ribeiro headers in the first 15 mins (they have always been vulnerable at corners in my games, regardless of season or personnel) and I cruised it to the end. 5 points ahead in 4th I am in the CL! However, it’s clear where the difference is to the top 3 – Man C 119 goals, Chelsea 98, Liverpool in 3rd 100 (I’m on 74). Ribeiro got 22 goals but Aguero hit 28. The best defensive record is Wigan with 47 conceded! These games are goal-fests, and my 3 hammerings to ‘lower’ teams have cost me dear. Next season I’ll be buying a bigger bus.
Abbeyhill – congratulations on the news, nothing to beat that feeling of elation, complete exhaustion and terror! Mild interest in PES from mine but not even close to dislodging Thomas the F’kin Tank Engine morning, noon and night.
just discovered a bug (not sure if anyone else has had);
Dempsey was into the last year of his contract with me and was being a nob so I listed and loan listed him. In January someone came in to loan him and he went off before contract renewals could begin. When he came back he didn’t go onto the renewal list for some reason. At the start of season 6 he is now listed as ‘duration of contract 2/1′ ie. into the 2nd year of a 1 year contract. I can release him for £0 or keep/sell him, however he is costing me his entire wages so I’ll likely bomb him out. If he wasn’t on 2m I would keep him out of curiosity.
uncle turf—PES2013 hopefully won’t be a dog, but it’s bound to seem strange and maybe a bit deflating at first—like all good PESes always have done. I will not miss PES2012′s shooting one little bit. This morning something happened on the shooting front that I’ll be devoting some space to on Monday’s post, complete with CSI-style screenshots and analysis. That damn central shooting.
Never seen anything like your Dempsey bug, but then I’ve only ever successfully loaned out a player once, and that was back in the year dot, and a Youth player—Manfredini—who came back from half a season’s loan considerably better than he was before or ever would have become sitting on my bench. That remains my one and only loanee in hundreds of hours of ML. I’ve spent 5 seasons with young Hagi/Kaka/Schweinsteiger et al on the loan list, with no takers.
That’s something else that needs fixing-transfers. You should be able to offer individual players to individual clubs, offer your own amounts, offer exchanges etc.
Ahh fuck, just remembered my current gripe on PES2010 (think it happened when I had 12 too, not sure) but when you look at your players in the squad list screen it says which (if any) clubs are watching them, it also tells you if any have made contact….but often that contact never materializes! And loads of times (as recently as last night) I get to the end of a transfer window, then the week after I get a list of “Negotiations broken down” but no negotiation even took place!
SO annoying.
Victory! The treble is mine at bloody last. If i ever meet the twat who programs the fixtures in PES im going to batter him
An international fixture the day before the FA cup final for fecks sake. In spite of that i scraped over the line. Then spent the rest of the evening replaying hitman bloodmoney as a sort of stress relief. Highly recommended!
Mike—I’ve always noted that ‘other clubs in contact’ bit, but never seen any follow-through. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of spontaneous offers for players I’ve had from the CPU. I have to put them on the market or it’s nothing.
leroy getz—so many congratulations. The Treble on Superstar in PES2012 is a formidable achievement indeed. I’ll almost certainly wrap up the year without having achieved it.
I have to admit it became something of an obsession. The thought of not winning it before pes2012 was something i couldnt take. The amount of games ive bought and not played this year because of master league is shameful. Until i clear that backlog i wont be buying pes2013. Fez, witcher 2, trine 2, trials evolution the list goes on lol
As I said the other day, this will definitely be my last season on PES12.
Im actually growing to dislike this game quite alot now.
It pisses me off severely with everything it does to cripple the human player.
I simplay cannot put up with it anymore.
Have just reached Jan in my ML season 17, cant wait to get it finished so i can hurl the PES12 disc into a nearby field.
leroy getz—I’m resigned to probably not doing it on PES2012, and actually okay with that. It’s been such a slog for so long that I feel what I’ve achieved anyway is more than enough.
I’m a fellow Trials HD/Evolution player/sufferer too. Downloaded Evolution on release day, played to for an hour, not been back yet. It’s quite true that PES addiction is a curse when you love games in general, and I certainly do. I might be restructuring my whole outlook on gaming and PES.
Paul—if your PES-related OCD will let you, just leave it alone now, is my advice. Don’t force it. Leave the disc in its box—you might want to finish that season in the last week before PES2013—and turn your eyes elsewhere. FIFA12! I’m really looking forward to my few weeks on that game, a month or so from now. Or play another game entirely. I’m loving my multi-hour sessions on Civilization/Dwarf Fortress. I’m going to spend an hour or two on OnLive later, just mooching around seeing what I can see.
I’ve just finished today’s post, my longest and most in-depth post for a few weeks, focusing upon one aspect of PES2012 that gave us all early headaches, and has always been problematic: the shooting. Basically I scored a great goal, but couldn’t enjoy it because of… well, I’ll let you see the post.
Mike – I agree, why can you not contact any of the ‘teams watching’ or ‘in contact’ to cut them a deal. I often find going from the end of one season to the start of another they all just disappear. I got my first serious offer last night – 10m for Heycory. As he is currently 5th ‘best’ player in the world overall I said no – laughably he has never been selected for an international…cos Scotland are that good right?!
I ballsed up my CL though – drew Valencia who I beat 1-0 away then devastatingly lost the home leg 2-0. No dodgy AI, no straight from kick off nonsense, I just lost concentration twice, and found them really tough to break down – 16 shots, 60% possession, no killer ball. Into Euro league which I now want to win. After 8 PL games I am unbeaten. I signed Belhanda, Ekdal and Ilicic to help beef up the squad and Jig as a handy CB sub. Both Rooney and Carroll are transfer listed but I can’t get either – ranking not cash. V frustrating.
I also got 4mill for Gary Hooper – what a signing – 600k wages on a free, goals to get me promoted, goals to get me established, useful RMF change and a massive profit when he started levelling out. My steal of 2012.
uncle turf—your Gary Hooper phenomenon is one of the hallmarks of a quality ML experience and why we all play it. In years to come I’ll remember my own bargain-basement Gary (Twigg), from the first seasons of my mammoth PES2012 ML campaign, probably more fondly than Hagi, Forlan, Stoichkov et al.
NG – you’re right. Much as I love Heycory, Farinos, Chagrat, etc it’s Ribeiro who will be my 2012 ‘T-shirt’ – particularly as hardly anyone else found much to say about him, and Hooper (and Roux from my Pro game) have been the ones I’ve patted myself on the back for.
I searched in vain for your Twigg early doors till I realised you’d patched and he wasn’t in mine. For 2013 I will update when everyone else does so we can better compare notes – to classic or not is the big question though. Did Twigg regen?
uncle turf—Twigg certainly did Regen, and appeared in my Youth team (could still be there actually). I was briefly tempted to make a sentimental signing, but not for long.